Marco Proano, an officer with the Chicago Police Department, was found guilty of using excessive force in a 2013 shooting where he shot his service weapon 16 times and wounded two Black teenagers. Proano maintained that he was doing his job in trying to curtail a car theft in the city’s notorious South Side neighborhood but jurors saw a police officer using his authority in a criminal manner.
Chicago Tribune reports:
In an unprecedented verdict, the jury deliberated about four hours before convicting Proano of two felony counts of using excessive force in violating the victims’ civil rights. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison on each count but likely will get far less because he has no prior criminal history.
Dressed in a dark gray suit and glasses, the 11-year veteran kept his hands clasped in front of him on the defense table and showed no emotion as the verdict was announced in U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman’s hushed courtroom.
Feinerman scheduled sentencing for Nov. 20. But federal prosecutors indicated they will seek next week to detain Proano as a danger to the community.
Proano is the first Chicago cop in memory to be convicted in federal court of criminal charges stemming from an on-duty shooting. He also was the first officer to go to trial in any shooting case since the court-ordered release of the Laquan McDonald shooting video in November 2015 sparked heated protests, political turmoil and promises of systemic change from Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Proano, 42, might also lose his job if the Chicago Police Department has their way.
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Photo: CPD screen capture
